RNTC

Indonesia's press is legally free — but is it truly free? In a powerful new op-ed published on RNW Media, two Indonesian journalists and RNTC Sander Thoenes Scholars, Retyan Sekar and Juan Robin, unpack the paradox at the heart of Indonesian journalism today.

From mass layoffs (1,200+ journalists in 2025 alone) to self-censorship, structural economic pressures are quietly reshaping what Indonesian media can — and cannot — say. Indonesia's ranking in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index dropped from 111th to 127th in just one year. Yet beyond the rankings, 80% of journalists admit to self-censoring to avoid conflict.

Retyan and Juan don't just diagnose the problem — they explore paths forward, from grassroots independent media to reimagining trust-based journalism models like De Correspondent in the Netherlands.

This is a must-read for anyone working in media, press freedom advocacy, or development communication.

Read the full article: https://ow.ly/m2Tw50YYL73

“Disinformation is not just present in Libya’s conflict. It is part of how the conflict works.”

As we continue to commemorate World Press Freedom Month throughout May, we turn to Libya, where over a decade of conflict and political division has weakened state institutions and created a fragmented information space vulnerable to manipulation.

In this essay, Hanan Mohammed explores how Russia-propagated online disinformation, alongside investment in traditional media, has shaped public opinion and discourse, undermining media authenticity, trust, and political processes.

These challenges reinforce the urgent need to strengthen independent and public interest media and build resilience against disinformation in an increasingly digital and AI-driven landscape.

This philosophy also guides our work on digital transformation and media viability, through our Digital Transformation Assessment (DTA) — a safe, confidential and free tool that helps public interest media organisations understand where they stand in their digital transformation journey, while contributing to collective insight that strengthens the sector.

Curious to learn more? Take the DTA (free):

https://rntc.com/digital-transformation-assessment

Read the full essay via the link in comments.



"في ليبيا، لا تقف المعلومات المضللة على هامش الصراع، بل تنخرط في صميمه. إنها ليست مجرد نتيجة جانبية، بل أداة من أدواته."

بينما نواصل إحياء اليوم العالمي لحرية الصحافة طيلة شهر مايو، فإننا نسلط الضوء على ليبيا التي أدى فيها الصراع والانقسام السياسي المستمران منذ أكثر من عقد إلى إضعاف مؤسسات الدولة وتجزئة فضاء الإعلام والمعلومات مما جعله عرضة للتلاعب.

في هذه المقالة، تتناول حنان محمد كيف ساهمت المعلومات المضللة التي تنشرها روسيا عبر الإنترنت، إلى جانب استثمارها في وسائل الإعلام التقليدية، في تشكيل الرأي العام والخطاب العام، مما قوّض العمليات السياسية ومصداقية وسائل الإعلام وثقة الجمهور بها.

تؤكد هذه التحديات على الحاجة المُلحة لتعزيز وسائل الإعلام المستقلة وبناء آلية دفاعية ضد المعلومات المضللة في ظل بيئة رقمية متزايدة التطور تعتمد على الذكاء الاصطناعي.

كما تُوجّه هذه الفلسفة عملنا في مجال التحول الرقمي واستدامة وسائل الإعلام، من خلال تقييم التحول الرقمي - وهي أداة آمنة وسرية ومجانية تُساعد مؤسسات الإعلام المعنية بالمصلحة العامة على فهم موقعها في رحلة التحول الرقمي، وتُسهم في الوقت نفسه في بناء رؤية جماعية تُعزز القطاع.

هل ترغبون في معرفة المزيد؟ شارك في تقييم التحول الرقمي (مجانًا):

https://rntc.com/digital-transformation-assessment

اقرأ المقال كاملاً عبر الرابط الموجود في التعليقات.

#ليبيا

We will be at RightsCon 2026 — and we'd love to meet you! 🌍

If you're joining us in Lusaka, Zambia this 5–8 May, connect with our team on the ground: Giovana Fleck (Information Integrity Manager) and Luckson Mulako (Learning Experience Manager).

RightsCon is the perfect moment to also talk about something we're passionate about: how independent and public interest media organisations can navigate digital transformation strategically and ethically — not just reactively.

That's exactly why we built the Digital Transformation Assessment (DTA) — a free, 60-minute guided tool that helps media organisations evaluate their digital maturity, spot critical gaps, and prioritise actions that drive real and rights-based impact.

✅ Free & available in English, Arabic, and French
✅ Personalised report with your Digital Transformation Score
✅ Includes a free 1-hour consultation with our Media Viability team

👉 Take the assessment before RightsCon and bring your questions and insights to the conversation: rntc.com/digital-transformation-assessment
See you in Zambia!

As Cheryl Thompson-Morton from The Lenfest Institute puts it: tools like the DTA are "especially powerful in supporting digital transformation efforts and guiding prioritization." (slide to see the quote in French and Arabic)

The Digital Transformation Assessment (DTA) goes beyond a simple scorecard. It delivers an in-depth, actionable diagnostic that helps organizations understand exactly where they stand and what to prioritize next.

✅ Automated & insight-driven
✅ Built for newsrooms without deep in-house analytics
✅ Practical next steps, not just a score

Ready to see where your organization stands? 👉 https://rntc.com/digital-transformation-assessment

It's Throwback Thursday: This came from one of our earliest alumni — RNTC Spring Course, 1980.

Four journalists. Three countries — Thailand, Liberia, and the Netherlands. One training course. A network that has been growing ever since.

45 years later, RNTC has trained thousands of journalists and media makers from across the world; from newsrooms under pressure to community radio stations, from investigative reporters to editors shaping public discourse in some of the most challenging media environments.

It looked like this at the beginning. And the RNTC network continues to grow!

Come, be part of the network! Learn more about RNTC here: https://rntc.com/impact

🚀 Disponible dès maintenant! Le DTA - une evaluation de la transformation numérique (ETN) de RNW Media.

Un outil en ligne gratuit pour les médias indépendants et la société civile utilisant les médias numériques – désormais disponible en anglais, français et arabe.
Conçu avec des partenaires médias de l'Asie Sud-Ouest et Afrique du Nord, d’Afrique et d’Amérique latine.

🔗 https://rntc.com/digital-transformation-assessment

Qu’est-ce que vous obtenez ? 👇
✔️ Un score de transformation numérique de référence
✔️ Un rapport personnalisé de 17 pages
✔️ Des prochaines étapes claires et priorisées – pas de solutions standardisées

🗣️ « Le DTA aide les petites entreprises médiatiques à passer d’une évaluation générale jusqu'à des priorités plus claires. »
💬 Consultation gratuite offerte jusqu'au 30 April !

Tous les participants de l'évaluation DTA bénéficient d'un appel gratuit - d'une heure avec les experts en viabilité des médias du RNTC pour analyser les résultats et planifier les prochaines étapes. Cette offre est disponible par ordre d'arrivée.

📩 Prendre rendez-vous : [email protected]